I figured I had a seventy-thirty chance. Seventy for no, thirty for yes. The six-month, £10,000 Charles Pick Fellowship awarded by the University of East Anglia sounded lucrative. Truth be told, all I was thinking about was survival. Why? I was flat broke.

Lara at Brick Lane asks whether I’m a typical Quaker. Since no two Quakers are alike, I’m typically atypical.

Quakers are members of the Religious Society of Friends (RSoF) – originally, ‘Friends of Truth.’ Although we try to be friendly, we’re not bound to be buddies; it’s more important to respect, listen to and learn from one another.

My parents who were avid readers and hoarders shaped me into a bookish child. I devoured everything from Dennis Wheatley to Emily Bronte, and my love affair with Puffin books culminated with a Club badge.

I’ll never forget my first childhood visit to our local library in Dorset where I encountered Orlando the Marmalade Cat. I had discovered a place where I could find more books than I could ever read. It was a revelation. Fast forward a few years to East ...

Welcome to Joanna Campbell, who explains one of the strands of her perceptive new novel, Tying Down The Lion. As a student she lived in West Germany, where she observed the collective guilt felt by so many after two world wars. More recently, German people are confronting these difficult...